First time poster, but I've been following this discussion closely for a few weeks now, as I am in the market for a new plasma and probably would have purchased a D7000 already if it weren't for this issue.

It's worth noting that merchandise sold by third-party merchants but fulfilled by Amazon is subject to Amazon's own return policy, not the policies of the merchant. So if something goes wrong, at least within the first 30 days, you deal directly with Amazon and can avail yourself of Amazon's fairly accommodating return policy.

On a different note, I've looked these TVs at two local BBs/Magnolias, and didn't see any peeling (though I didn't inspect with a fine-tooth comb). The sales person at one location said he was generally aware of the problem but hadn't had any returns for it.

I see that what you say about Amazon is true, per Amazon's own policies under the "Fulfilled by Amazon" guidelines. That's reassuring to a point.

I can concur that the TVs at my local Magnolia/BB also lacked any peeling. At my Magnolia, however, the head person in charge had no idea what I was talking about.

There is no difference in HDMI cables. If you can see the picture without visible dropouts or sparklies, the cable is working at 100%. No other cable will display a better version of that picture. You're simply wrong if you think there is a better digital cable than one that is already working. (Oh, and plasma didn't die because of logistics problems, nor does OLED ship in big boxes because it comes from Korea.)

I spoke to the company that's going to be doing the repair on my 64D8000 this morning. They are ordering a new screen and will install it next Wednesday as it takes 7-10 business days to receive the part. Not sure about replacing the screen, hopefully the tech knows what he's doing. If the tv is brand new after its done I'll be happy

I spoke to the company that's going to be doing the repair on my 64D8000 this morning. They are ordering a new screen and will install it next Wednesday as it takes 7-10 business days to receive the part. Not sure about replacing the screen, hopefully the tech knows what he's doing. If the tv is brand new after its done I'll be happy

I guess the good news for those of us in the market for this set is that Samsung is going to have to fix this problem in the manufacturing process, I would think. I mean, they can't really afford to be sending out techs to replace screens in a whole bunch of TV's. That's certainly not a long-term solution that is profitable.

I guess the good news for those of us in the market for this set is that Samsung is going to have to fix this problem in the manufacturing process, I would think. I mean, they can't really afford to be sending out techs to replace screens in a whole bunch of TV's. That's certainly not a long-term solution that is profitable.

Yeah I (and Samsung) went through a similar thing with the Bell Galaxy S Vibrant I9000M phone. SD cards failing all over the place. Samsung replaced the boards in many units but ultimately even the replacements were not good until they were getting non-defective SD chips from manufacturing.

It may be that owners are better off to either rid themselves of the TV for now or wait until there are known reliable screens and then have the replacement/repair done.

Smitty, it'd be nice to have some shred of evidence the problem is indeed fixed at mfg. For example, there are hints Sony figured out the "crease" issue on their LCDs and is no longer shipping units with it. Hints only, perhaps, but a plausible explanation and suggestions the new units lack the problem.

My hypothetical 64D7000 awaits reports of the fix.

There is no difference in HDMI cables. If you can see the picture without visible dropouts or sparklies, the cable is working at 100%. No other cable will display a better version of that picture. You're simply wrong if you think there is a better digital cable than one that is already working. (Oh, and plasma didn't die because of logistics problems, nor does OLED ship in big boxes because it comes from Korea.)

I just got off the phone with a 'manager' over at Samsung customer service. She called me after I told a CSR through livechat to have a supervisor call me.
She was very nice, and seemed like she knew what she was talking about. I explained to her the problem and what other people are experiencing with the D7000 & D8000 64" & 59" plasma TVs.(peeling)

She told me she IS aware of the problem, and so are many of the much 'higher up' people(obviously). She said she has received several emails regarding this issue. In fact, she said right before calling me she received one from a customer regarding this same issue. She also explained that she believes it has just been a bad batch of TVs and that she expects future production of the 2011 TVs to be greatly improved in quality so this issue won't be an issue.

I was very surprised by her honesty and knowledge. I was expecting her to say the usual "O NO I HAVENT HURD OF THIS PROBLAM???"

This is great news to me, as I am planning on purchasing a 59 D8000 in the next month or two.

Smitty, it'd be nice to have some shred of evidence the problem is indeed fixed at mfg. For example, there are hints Sony figured out the "crease" issue on their LCDs and is no longer shipping units with it. Hints only, perhaps, but a plausible explanation and suggestions the new units lack the problem.

My hypothetical 64D7000 awaits reports of the fix.

Sony kept claiming to have fixed the SXRD issues too..that went on for several years until they finally just quit making them. The peeling issue should be much easier and quicker to solve, but these big companies tend to move pretty slow in addressing problems. I'd not buy until it's clear that it has been dealt with.

Alan, I agree. I keep putting one in the cart at Amazon and keep not clicking buy. It's fantastic to see some small evidence Samsung is aware of the problem at a higher level. It's essential, however, for them to demonstrate that they've fixed it going forward. If not, there are alternative products... I'd like something for fall: new episodic TV, football (maybe), etc.

There is no difference in HDMI cables. If you can see the picture without visible dropouts or sparklies, the cable is working at 100%. No other cable will display a better version of that picture. You're simply wrong if you think there is a better digital cable than one that is already working. (Oh, and plasma didn't die because of logistics problems, nor does OLED ship in big boxes because it comes from Korea.)

Alan, I agree. I keep putting one in the cart at Amazon and keep not clicking buy. It's fantastic to see some small evidence Samsung is aware of the problem at a higher level. It's essential, however, for them to demonstrate that they've fixed it going forward. If not, there are alternative products... I'd like something for fall: new episodic TV, football (maybe), etc.

I placed my order, since I had one of those 20% off HDTV's at Amazon. I figure if the 1-2 month wait holds, hopefully those won't have an issue. If they do, then I'll deal with the hassle of exchanging/repairing them, as the price I paid will still be worth it.

Well I just found out that my technician ordered a new bezel. I called and complained that its not the bezel but the screen. The tech company says that Samsung specifically said they wont cover damage to the panel as that is "physical damage." I told them that it's not physical damage, it's bubbling.

The tech company is going to send somebody out tomorrow afternoon to check it out and take pictures. (I wish they had done that from the beginning).

so I'm pretty POed right now. So much for David_B's belief that Samsung is taking care of the issue.

I just got off the phone with a 'manager' over at Samsung customer service. She called me after I told a CSR through livechat to have a supervisor call me.
She was very nice, and seemed like she knew what she was talking about. I explained to her the problem and what other people are experiencing with the D7000 & D8000 64" & 59" plasma TVs.(peeling)

She told me she IS aware of the problem, and so are many of the much 'higher up' people(obviously). She said she has received several emails regarding this issue. In fact, she said right before calling me she received one from a customer regarding this same issue. She also explained that she believes it has just been a bad batch of TVs and that she expects future production of the 2011 TVs to be greatly improved in quality so this issue won't be an issue.

I was very surprised by her honesty and knowledge. I was expecting her to say the usual "O NO I HAVENT HURD OF THIS PROBLAM???"

This is great news to me, as I am planning on purchasing a 59 D8000 in the next month or two.

Another update: Livechat person is telling me a supervisor can't call. Says they don't have that ability. They did take my photos and updated my service ticket so that the tech could look at my panel without threatening to make me pay. But after insisting five times, he said he'd elevate it to a supervisor.

So they updated my service ticket with an updated description of the problem but still wont admit they've heard of the problem. One hour of my time for that.

Alright, now I have a real gem of a conversation with a CSR via Live Chat.

Chat Information Please wait for a Samsung Agent to respond.

Chat Information You are now chatting with 'Mathew M'. There will be a brief survey at the end of our chat to share feedback on my performance today.

Chat Information Your Issue ID for this chat is LTK538097665X

Mathew M: Hi, thanks for reaching out to Samsung tech support. How can I help you today?

Jeff: Hi Mathew, I'm messaging you regarding the common issue of screen peeling on the PND7000, and PND8000 59" and 64" Plasma TVs.

Jeff: The coating on the screen which is put on to prevent excessive glaring is peeling off on numerous customers sets.

Mathew M: Thank you for the information.

Jeff: I know you and your company have knowledge of this recurring problem as I'm sure I'm not the first customer you have encountered with this problem.

Mathew M: I understand the situation.

Jeff: I talked with someone from a call center in Greensville, NC today and she seemed to be a supervisor. Or definitely someone who is running things in the call center. She said she is aware of this problem and has received quite a few emails regarding this problem.

Mathew M: Okay.

Jeff: My question to you is, do you know of any possible fixes in the near future for this common problem?

Jeff: For instance, if I were to wait a few months and order my TV. Do you think the newer built/later production dated TV's will have this issue sorted out and fixed?

Jeff: Because I would really like to purchase from Samsung, I am just not really one for returning a TV 3 or 4 times for such an easy fix in the production line.

Mathew M: I understand that, this issue is reported issue for the above models.

Mathew M: This issue can be resolved through normal repair service.

Mathew M: Could you please provide me the complete model number of the unit?

Jeff: You admit that you have had other customers reporting this problem as well?

Mathew M: As per our database the above models are affected for this type of issues.

Mathew M: I will the service request behalf of you.

Jeff: You are saying others, besides me have reported their D7000 and D8000 as having screen peeling issues?

Mathew M: Yes, you are correct.

Mathew M: It will be soon resolved by our development team engineers.

Mathew M: They are working on the following issue.

Jeff: So if I were buy a D8000 plasma in the next 3 or 4 months, after the problem has been addressed and/or fixed. Peeling should not be an issue?

Mathew M: As of now, our engineers are working on this issue, I am not sure about the time frame.

Maybe I'm a "glass half-full" type of guy, but this seems like good news, relatively speaking. They are aware of the problem, and they have engineers working on a prospective solution. That seems like substantial progress from a week or ten days ago.

Well I just found out that my technician ordered a new bezel. I called and complained that its not the bezel but the screen. The tech company says that Samsung specifically said they wont cover damage to the panel as that is "physical damage." I told them that it's not physical damage, it's bubbling.

The tech company is going to send somebody out tomorrow afternoon to check it out and take pictures. (I wish they had done that from the beginning).

so I'm pretty POed right now. So much for David_B's belief that Samsung is taking care of the issue.

Why is it that Samsung always brings up the phrase, "we do not cover damage to the panel as that is "physical damage." Are they reading from a scripted?

Why is it that Samsung always brings up the phrase, "we do not cover damage to the panel as that is "physical damage." Are they reading from a scripted?

Yes, it's something they are required to tell the customer when the customer reports a problem that cannot be found in their database. The way it works is that you give a description of the problem. The CSR does some "research" which I assumes means they look for other reported problems in some database. If they don't find anything, they tell you they don't cover physical damage (whether it was before or after delivery). This is especially true with the panel itself.

I had a live chat with a CSR yesterday. I provided a list of other transaction numbers. He still said there were no such problems. I asked for a copy of the chatlog but it was never emailed to me for some strange reason.

Ok, some good news for once. The service tech company called me today and said they couldn't do the service call because Samsung had cancelled my ticket number. That didn't seem like good news at first, especially after I spent an hour in webchat last night with Samsung trying to get this resolved. The webchat CSR told me to use the same ticket #. So I called Samsung and spoke to a rep named Steven (Stephan?). He then told me that my ticket number had been closed as "repaired." I explained the problem and he then said he has personally heard of the problem, recently, in fact. He said Samsung is aware of the "delamination" problem on the 59" and 64" 8000 and 7000 series screens and Samsung is covering it. He opened a new ticket number and personally called the service company to inform them that Samsung is covering the screen and the bezel (just in case they also had to replace the bezel after making the screen repair). So I got a new ticket #.

Steven, the CSR, also said that this is a known issue on a limited number of sets (he said Samsung sold 2 million sets last month). Steven believed it was a problem with the adhesive being used. I'm not sure if he based that on his own speculation or based it on some internal discussion about the problem or both.

So in the end, it turned out to be a good thing that my original ticket number was canceled.

2,000,000 Sets at say $1,200 wholesale or even $1,000 wholesale would be $2BB in sales for one month, for one product. If that's right, Samsung is doing great business. He's probably referring to the TOTAL number of all models sold by samsung. Still, that's a big number.

Nobody with one of these that's been refused because it was obviously hit, as is seen by the tell tail circular "bullseye" cracking common with physical hits, have posted a picture ANYWHERE on the entire internet showing some other form of cracking (such as stress cracks).

Samsung has fixed stress cracked units, which show semi-random cracks which can't be pinpointed by a bullseye radial crack.

This isn't a "loophole" this is a large CE company that sells 2 million glass screen TVs a month. How many of those do you suppose get cracked by the customer who then trys to get a new TV claiming they didn't do it?

This kind of hoggwash goes on all the time in every retail biziness. Ask Toyota and Audi about the thousands of "sudden unintended acceleration" claims that all ended up being faulse.

Toyota and Audi spent billions on bogus "sudden acceleration" claims between lawsuits, lost sales, unnecessary recalls, etc. It very very nearly killed Audi USA, which has made one of the great comebacks in business history.

There is no difference in HDMI cables. If you can see the picture without visible dropouts or sparklies, the cable is working at 100%. No other cable will display a better version of that picture. You're simply wrong if you think there is a better digital cable than one that is already working. (Oh, and plasma didn't die because of logistics problems, nor does OLED ship in big boxes because it comes from Korea.)

that second "bubble" the one on the right sure is growing. I'm working with my dealer on a replacement. May 2011 build. my viewing room is has been blazing hot this past week with the weather not sure if that's helping speed this process up or not.

these pictures have also been sent to samsung live support team their response was and this only took about 5min "see if your dealer has a return policy if not we will set up a service call you have a defective tv."